Inspiring Athletes

He might be barely into his mid-20s, but Sprint Cup driver Austin Dillon has already found himself smack dab in the middle of NASCAR’s brightest spotlight. You could say Dillon was born to be a driver. His grandfather is legendary team owner Richard Childress and his father Mike Dillon is the general manager at Richard…

Turner Gill has seen just about everything in his days as a top-rated college quarterback and his experiences as a coach at various levels. At Nebraska, he led the Cornhuskers to three Big Eight championships but painfully fell short of a national title. Back at Nebraska as an assistant, he celebrated with legendary head coach…

It doesn’t matter if it’s the Camping World Truck Series, the Nationwide Series or the Sprint Cup Series. All NASCAR driver David Starr cares about is getting behind the wheel and doing what he’s loves best—racing. Starr has spent most of 16-year career in the Truck Series where he has won four races and collected…

The state of Oklahoma is known for its powerhouse football programs, legendary country music stars and rich Native American heritage. Notice the absence of “famous stock car drivers” from that list. Taylor Berryhill, barely into his 20’s, hopes to change that. The Bixby native and Nationwide Series driver has some serious racing genes in his…

For the past 15 years, Jason Ratcliff has slowly worked his way through the NASCAR ranks as a crew chief for the likes of David Green, J.J. Yeley, Aric Almirola and Jamie McMurray. He’s spent time working with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin early in their careers and most notably helped lead Busch to the…

In this day and age, it’s amazing that Kansas City General Manager Dayton Moore is even around to enjoy his team’s inspiring rise back to prominence. After all, in his nine seasons at the helm, the Royals suffered through seven consecutive losing seasons before finishing 86-76 in 2013 and finally breaking a 28-year playoff drought…

Since 1998, Dave Rogers has been fully immersed into the unique culture of Joe Gibbs Racing. From his start as race engineer for Tony Stewart’s #20 team to his current post as crew chief for Kyle Busch’s #18 team, Rogers has been through plenty of changes yet found stability under Gibbs’ leadership. In this Inspiring…

Blake Koch has never been afraid of hard work. And that’s a good thing considering how difficult it is to break into NASCAR—especially when driving for small, underfunded teams. Over the past six years, Koch has raced in all three major series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck) for no less than 15 different…

Michael McDowell has been quietly building confidence and a solid résumé over the past seven years. It hasn’t been the easiest transition for the former open wheel racer and road course specialist, but his determination to make a permanent home in NASCAR and stronger desire to have a larger impact within the garage has driven…

On Tuesday, Kevin Durant won his first career NBA Most Valuable Player award. His acceptance speech has quickly become the source of great inspiration across the country. Durant is truly a unique soul in a league where the biggest names rarely display such authentic humility. I’ve had the chance to interview Durant a couple of…

Chad Bonham
about

Chad Bonham

Chad has been working in mass media for over 20 years. Chad’s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian.

Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today’s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today.

He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press).

When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen.

Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).

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